Hollingsworth Jr. headlines CHS Wall of Fame inductees
Clinton High School has announced the Wall of Fame members to be inducted Friday, Oct. 7.
They are Joe Hollingsworth Jr., Dr. Christopher Ramsey, and the late Dr. and Mrs. Dan Thomas and family.
As is the tradition, their induction will coincide with homecoming activities. They will ride in the parade and be recognized before the Oct. 7 football game with Lenoir City.
Hollingsworth is the consummate entrepreneur. Known locally for the highly successful Git ‘N Go markets, Carriage Trace and Carriage Hill, he oversees a vast empire of businesses and organizations. He is the CEO of The Hollingsworth Companies. He has established 126 industrial facilities in 17 different states. His ventures employ thousands of people.
Hollingsworth has held leadership positions in many clubs and organizations including Rotary International and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.
He served on the U.S. Senatorial Business Advisory Board and Gov. Ned Ray McWherter’s Special Coal Task Force.
After a half-century of extraordinary business success, Hollingsworth has made sure that his successes benefit his community.
He was responsible for the transformation of the Clinton Middle School Gym.
He was responsible for the athletic facility at Clinton High School.
Because of his passion for promoting entrepreneurial
opportunities and because of his involvement with Junior Achievement, Mr. Hollingsworth has reached out to elementary school students and high school students. His facility next to Anderson County High School has taught 75,000 students from Clinton and many surrounding communities. Aspire Park is under construction. When it is completed it will become Mr. Hollingsworth’s permanent reminder to aspire for greatness.
Dr. Ramsey graduated from C.H.S. in 1987. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio. He did his residency at the University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine.
In 2002, he began practicing general urology when he joined Urology Consultants of Knoxville – now called Tennessee Urology. Although he is qualified to treat bladder cancer, hematuria, kidney stones, prostate cancer, and to perform vasectomies, his special concentration is robot-assisted laparoscopic procedures. These procedures include prostatectomy, pyeloplasty, and urethral reconstruction.
These robotic procedures have shown great benefits to doctors and patients alike. Recently, Dr. Ramsey performed his 2500th robotic prostate surgery – the most of any doctor in Tennessee. Clearly he is a leader in this exciting and innovative field.
Among his many accolades and accomplishments, he is especially proud of is induction into the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honorary Society.
It is rare, but not without precedent that an entire family is inducted. The Thomas family is that rare family with unprecedented success.
Dr. Dan Thomas, Sr. graduated from Lincoln Memorial University and later U.T. Medical School. During World War II he was a medical officer with the Army Corp of Engineers. After the war, he became a pediatrician. He and his wife Louise would raise six children. All six graduated from Clinton High School. All six have achieved stellar careers. Additionally, Dan Sr. served as a team physician for the Dragon football team long before that became a common practice. He also served as Chairman of the Anderson County Board of Education.
Dan, Jr. played football for Bear Bryant at Alabama. He received a Bachelor of Science in English. He would later receive a Master’s and a Doctorate from the University of North Carolina. During his 35 year career he taught and coached in high school and became the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for the Chatham County Schools. He was also an Adjunct Professor at U.N.C. Chapel Hill.
Dr. Steven Thomas graduated with a medical degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He spent two years in the Navy before going to Chattanooga to begin his residency in ophthalmology. He would spend the next 40 years performing cataract surgery.
Pat Thomas’ calling was a military one. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He earned a Master’s Degree at Webster University and completed a degree for Strategic Studies at the U.S. Army War College. He spent 30 years in active duty – 14 with the infantry, 16 in aviation.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from U.T. Medical Center, Ruth Thomas (now Miller) spent 35 years at the U.T. Medical Center in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit taking care of the tiniest and most vulnerable infants, or as she calls them, “her babies.”
Like her siblings, Julie Thomas McNamee also graduated from U.T. Knoxville. Her degree was in Wildlife and Fish Management. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary Science Education at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her career was spent in government service, primarily with the National Parks.
Clay Thomas is also a graduate of U.T. Knoxville. His degree is in Mechanical Engineering. He became a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army as a platoon leader in charge of Security and Intelligence at Fort Carson, Colorado. He would go on to serve in engineering and management positions in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
This is an exceptional group of inductees – people who have graduated from Clinton High School and gone on to achieve excellence in their chosen professions. They continue to make the school and the community proud of their accomplishments.